


Insomnia

by Sapphin3



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Anorexia, Because It's Max, Chaos, Child Abuse, Cliffhangers, David Acting as Max's Parental Figure | Dadvid (Camp Camp), David Fucks Up, David does too, Denial, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Gwen Acting as Max's Parental Figure (Camp Camp), Gwen can't handle the stress, Harrison's brother is mentioned, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Insomnia, Language Davey!, Max's Life Sucks, Max's Parents Are Bad Parents (Camp Camp), Multiple story lines, My tags are all over the place, Nikki and Neil keep messing up, Panic Attacks, Questionable Hospital Methods, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Suicidal Thoughts, Swearing, They can't function without Max, so much chaos, whoops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:34:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25383169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphin3/pseuds/Sapphin3
Summary: Max and David both have insomnia. One night, David sees Max out on the docks. An interaction leads to David finding out more than he should.This causes way too much unnecessary chaos that could've been avoided. Thanks, David.WARNING: UNDER-AGED RAPE MENTION, ABUSE MENTION, SUICIDAL/SELF-DEPRECATING THOUGHTS, SELF HARM MENTION, NEAR DROWNING, PANIC ATTACKS, PASSING OUT, ANOREXIA(Warnings for each chapter in chapter notes)Things to note:Lots of angst.Canon-typical swearing.On hiatus. Updates in end chapter notes. <3
Relationships: David & Max (Camp Camp), Gwen & Max (Camp Camp), Max & Nikki (Camp Camp), Max & Science Camp Neil & Nikki (Camp Camp), Max & Science Camp Neil (Camp Camp), NOT MAXVID - Relationship, No Romantic Relationship(s), Science Camp Neil & Nikki (Camp Camp)
Comments: 54
Kudos: 144





	1. Chapter 1 - Falling Apart

**Author's Note:**

> I compare David and Max's insomnia to me and my dad's. Mine is like David, my dad's similar to Max. (The self-deprecating thoughts are a bit off for my dad. I don't even know if that is what causes his insomnia.)
> 
> Only the first half of this chapter focuses on insomnia. So...
> 
> WARNING: *UNDER-AGED RAPE + ABUSE MENTIONED* *SUICIDAL/SELF-DEPRECATING THOUGHTS* *NEAR-DROWNING* *PANIC ATTACKS* *FAINTING* *ANOREXIA*
> 
> Only the first chapter is first person.

I'm tired, but have barely felt it. It's been five days since I've gotten a good night's sleep, but my energy's undeterred. Sure, by the end of each grueling day my body starts to shut down, but I power through it for my campers. I'm not David without my enthusiasm.

Today was Dolph's day-art camp! Despite this being a very tranquil activity, it was very attention-seeking. From Dolph's crude references to a... very depressing time period, (he's just a boy, I remind myself) to Nurf trying to take a throwing knife to a very lovely picture of myself, (Space Kid worked very hard on it!) today was chaotic. The infamous trio even managed to get their hands on some paintball guns, bombarding the mess hall with tiny bullets and calling it art. I thought it was very creative!

Soon enough, the campers were sent to their tents, and exhaustion crawled up onto me. They were sent away early so that Gwen and I could clean up the mess of knives, paint and paper. The task took a lot of energy, but I managed to keep my head upright.

Gwen turned herself in immediately upon entering our cabin. I knew I wouldn't be able to, though. No matter how many days I decline sleep, I can't contain my liveliness. So instead I grabbed a lantern and headed outside.

I always loved the campsite at night. It was calming, a cool breeze carrying away the humid air of summer. The soft chirping of crickets and padding of my slow pace helped me whisk away my zest. I let my smile drop smaller into a small, content upturn of my lips. I trudged along the path parallel to the mess hall taking a satisfied breath. The lantern I was holding swung back and forth faintly, its' light peeking out into deep crevices in the forest until retreating back to ones previously searched. I hummed softly; the weak buzz loud compared to the quiet woods.

As I neared the mess hall, I heard faint shuffling. My years of counseling caused an automatic response, my head whipping over to the source. In the distance, on the dock, was a small figure. Too far to try and figure out who it was, I jogged over to them. In my haste to stop this troublemaker, I dropped my lantern half way. They didn't have any light source with them, so even when I stepped on the beach, I couldn't figure out who was sitting there. I could only see a bit of moonlight gleaming in-between their hair, revealing that it was curly. Sadly, that wasn't enough to identify them as their height was hidden with a hunch. Upon closing in on the kid, the weak boards over the lake creaked loudly. The child visibly tensed, whipping their head around to reveal-

\---------------------------------------------------------

Jesus _fuck_ , I was tired. For some reason-despite not having slept the night before-I couldn't drift off. I tried everything in my power to sleep, but my brain decided to keep supplying me with all my fuck-ups on repeat. On nights like these, I feel compelled to stand up and apologize to everyone I ever knew. However, my pride and fatigued body wouldn't let me take a single step near anyone.

Throughout the day I was tired, struggling to keep my eyes open and focus on anything. Nikki and Neil were helpful in that aspect, keeping me lively enough to propel harmless paint-balls all over the mess hall's logs. The more the day went on, the snappier I got. I could only assume my exhaustion was getting to me. I _could_ feel bad, but I'm Max, and I'm not Max without being an asshole.

Giving up on trying to rest, I heaved myself up and onto the soft grass in Neil and my shared tent. Not bothering to grab anything, I slumped into the serene darkness.

My feet barely made a sound as I hurried down to the docks. Years of sneaking around my house and lack of eating allowed me to do so. Once I reached the rickety wood, I navigated my way to the edge of the pier.

I sat there, legs dangling dangerously over the ledge. I stuffed my hands in my hoodie, subconsciously rubbing my hands over my bony stomach. Despite the implications, it's a fidget that oddly calms me down.

My thoughts delved back into the ones back at the tent as I focused on the glistening water of Lake Lilac. My self-deprecating attitude was nothing new to me. Hunching over more, I leaned slightly towards the water as another invasive thought takes over.

_If only I could-_

A loud creak startles me from my thoughts. I turn around to scream at the intruder, only to find-

\---------------------------------------------------------

_Max._

_David._

_"What's he doing here?"_

David's eyebrows furrowed; confusion evident on his face. Max was also confused, but more-so startled and frightened.

Max didn't know what David would be like at night. Max didn't know what David would _do_ at night, away from everyone else. He didn't really want to find out. He could never trust adults.

He swallowed down his fear in order to scowl scornfully at the adult. He scrambled to his feet, _not scared_ , and straightened his back so that he wasn't even more shorter than David than he already was.

_Not scared. David's nice. You've done so much shit to him that you don't even have to consider the possibility of anything bad happening. Stop thinking, dumbass._

David saw Max's fear. Deciding not to question it, he smiled in a way he hoped was warm and welcoming- _when did he stop smiling?-_ and sat down next to Max. David had been fighting to get Max to be comfortable to be around him. He found this incoming interaction as an opportunity. In the dead of night, Max was probably more likely to be open. That, plus David just found Max in a state of vulnerability and didn't use it against him.

Max gazed uncertainly at David, yet kept up his tough façade. After a few moments, he huffed exasperatedly, plopping himself next to the perky redhead.

The two didn't talk for a while, simply admiring the fascinating colors reflecting off of the lake.

That is, until David decided that it was time to be nosy.

"So, what're you doing out here, kiddo?"

Max sighed. It wouldn't hurt to share at least _some_ truth.

"Insomnia."

David whined in sympathy. Golly, he sure did know how _that_ felt.

"Why didn't you come to me or Gwen? We could've helped you."

Rolling his eyes, Max shifted to lean against a pillar holding the dock up. He searched his mind for a decent answer. To be completely honest, he knew the answer was _"adults can't be trusted,"_ but he also knew that David wouldn't exactly like that answer. Max finally decided _fuck it_ and took his usual route when given a question he didn't want to answer.

"I don't know, why are _you_ out here?"

David looked over to Max, lifting an eyebrow.

"Same reason."

That startled Max for a second. _That tree-fucker has insomnia?_ He scoffed. _Figures._

Max brushed it off, going to zone out again.

"You never answered my question, champ."

"Never call me that," Max huffed. Apparently David caught onto his subject change. "And you two are annoying. I'd rather get beaten up by Nurf than go to either of you for anything."

David frowned at that. He really wanted to help to Max, but if he didn't want to even approach him with a problem, he didn't know what to do about it. Back to the drawing board.

"Well, if you ever have trouble sleeping, you can come get me. I won't mind."

"As if."

They lapsed into silence again, staring off into the water.

Max was thinking about how to get away from this situation without there being any danger. After all, adults are cruel and Max doesn't know what David is like under his peppy façade.

David, on the other hand, was wracking his brain for ways to get Max to talk to him. He's tried just about anything at this point.

He resigned himself to his fate: he won't be able to help.

"You're awfully mature for your age."

"I mean, losing your virginity at 6 probably fucks up your mind at least a little bit."

Max said it nonchalantly, resting his head on the palm of his hand. His eyes were distant, zoned out so far that he didn't even recognize what he said.

David just stared for a solid minute, mouth agape and flapping helplessly like a leaf loose on its' branch.

"... _what??"_

Max looked up at the exclamation, his face crossed with confusion as he took in David's lost expression.

It was then where Max finally processed what happened.

He scrambled his back against the post, his spine rigid and his wide eyes locked on David. His breaths sped up a little, not enough to make him pass out yet, but fast enough that it was obvious that he was starting to panic.

Also panicking, David tried to compose himself in order to assist the child in front of him. His movements quick and alarmed, Max let out a large flinch. This didn't go unnoticed by David, him taking a deep breath and attempting to smile invitingly. It wasn't easy, given the information he was just provided, but he was determined.

David wanted to sweep Max up into his arms, telling him everything was going to be ok, but he assumed Max wouldn't like physical contact right now. _Of course. He did just tell you that he... well, I can only assume it was rape._ (David choked up when he even just thought about that word.) _But... that was back when he was 6, he said. He still hates physical contact now. Maybe the trauma just carried on for years later. What the_ hell _happened? Please tell me that it was only one time and that I'm just overthinking things._

David shook his head slightly, finally getting his bearings. He needed to focus on calming Max down.

He backed up to the other further post, understanding that Max needed his space. He kept smiling, his hands rested on his crossed lap. He didn't want to startle Max with any quick motions, so he was sluggish as he dragged his body to cooperate.

Max was still hyperventilating, his face twisted in fear, shock, disbelief, and anger. The last one was smaller, but Max couldn't help but be mad for exposing himself. He'd berate himself later, but now that David knew that Max was weak... well. Max needed to keep his eye on him.

David's slow movements didn't help him calm down at all. If anything, Max felt himself dissociating. That didn't stop him from tensing himself up even more, balling his hands into fists to make it seem like he was stronger than he was.

_As strong as one can be when they're shaking violently like the Camp Campbell flag on a windy day._

David waited patiently for Max to come to. He took in Max's defensive stature, like he was preparing for David to hurt him. The moon started to hide behind the trees, the only light now being from the very slight reflection of the moon still on the lake and the lantern a long distance away.

With his sight of Max basically gone, he couldn't tell if he had relaxed at all. He knew that Max was going to hurt himself like this. He needed to think of something else.

"You're OK, buddy. I'm not gonna hurt you."

Max barely registered David's voice over his booming ears and dissociation.

_"Shut up, slut. It probably just left a bruise."_

"No one's out to get you."

_"Get the fuck back here!"_

Max was back at home. David was gone. _Where's David?_

"You're OK."

_"You're dead fucking meat."_

Max started to shift away from the post in order to get even further from the man.

"Nobody will hurt you here, you're safe."

_"You stand there and take it like the little bitch you are."_

Max's mind kept skipping from memory to memory. He couldn't feel anything on his back anymore.

"I'm right here, kiddo. You've got nothing to worry about."

_"If you just stopped screaming when I told you too, maybe you wouldn't have that broken arm."_

Max's breathing sped up an impossible amount.

"Calm down, Max. I'm David-not someone you have to fear."

_"Oh, I'm gonna make sure you have somethin' to fear if you try to talk t' me like that again."_

Max was awfully close to the ledge. Too bad David couldn't see it.

"I'm just David, your happy camp counselor."

_"You're just my dirty cock-sleeve, not my son."_

There were three things that seemed to happen at once.

First, Max couldn't seem to take in any more air, followed by feeling like he was going to pass out.

Then, he passed out.

Backwards.

Right into the lake.


	2. Chapter 2 - Safety in Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max gets sent to the hospital. David gets a call and some bad news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: *DROWNING* *REFERENCE TO DEATH* *PANIC ATTACKS*

David scrambled to his feet, fear overtaking his body as his young camper slipped into the deep waters of Lake Lilac. He didn't expect Max to fall so quickly-or, well, to fall _at all,_ but he didn't care as he traveled through the icy cold waters.

_Cold. Suffocating. Quiet. Loud._

David ignored it all as he tried to reach for his camper in the pitch-black depths. He held his breath for as long as he could as he flailed his arms around searching for any contact. Coming up empty, he swam to the surface in order to gasp in another deep breath. Plunging back down, he lasted a little bit longer before having to resurface again.

_Hurry up. He's going to die. He's going to die and it'll be your fault._

Ignoring his currently intrusive mind, David continued on with his search. He felt like it was decades until he felt wet cloth. Quickly snatching onto it, he swam up to the surface, placing Max on the docks.

Or… Max…

Max's hoodie.

_Only_ Max's hoodie.

Panic overtaking him again, he dove down for what felt like the hundredth time that night.

_Max isn't here._

Another gasp for breath.

_He's gonna die._

Another breath.

_He's gone._

Another.

_I failed him._

Ano-

During a hasty retreat, David felt something soft brush against his arm. Skin. Cold, _wet_ skin. _Max._

He grabbed the body, tugging it harshly as it snagged against something he didn't care to think about. He only cared about getting Max out of the waters and safe.

Similar to earlier, he propped himself onto the wooden boards as he pushed Max onto the pier. Adrenaline still pumping through his body, he hefted himself up next to the boy. A quick relieved glance confirmed his theory that it was-in fact-the green-eyed child.

David didn't know how much water Max swallowed, quickly performing CPR.

After a few seconds-or maybe hours, David couldn’t tell-Max started throwing up water. David swept the back of his throat in assistance.

_Something tells me that's not all of it,_ David thought, _I need to get him to the hospital._

Picking up the boy, David rushed his way to the counselor’s cabin.

He pushed the door open (not slamming it, somehow) and grabbed his keys and phone. He was lucky he didn't have either in his pockets when dunking himself into the lake. He wouldn't have cared anyways, as long as he made sure Max was safe.

Speaking of Max, he was still in his arms, his labored breaths hissing in the still air. He swore he heard them stop completely at some point. David periodically tried to shake him awake, but he wouldn't even so much as stir.

_Hospital_.

David rushed to the camp mobile, sliding along the grass and basically throwing himself and Max into the car. (He was significantly more careful with Max, though.)

Buckling them both in, David headed off on a grueling, long, tedious trip.

\---------------------------------------------------------

David sat in the waiting room, leg bouncing nervously. Upon arrival, Max was sent away to a room by some nurses, and David was told to sit after some questioning. It was now 7:13 AM. The campers were supposed to wake up 13 minutes ago. At 7:00 David would wake them up with a cheery grin and peppy attitude, but this time he wasn't there.

This thought made him realize that he never told Gwen he was headed out, nor what happened. God, he was a me-

His phone buzzed loudly in his pocket. Startled from his trance, he hurried outside due to hospital rules and common courtesy.

_Speaking of Gwen-_

_“DAVID WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!”_

He pulled the phone away from his face a little, grimacing. God, he was tired.

_Heh. That's new._

_“DAVID?”_

Ah. He had yet to respond.

But what would he even say? It's not like he could-

“ _DAVID."_

“Sorry! Sorry.”

“You'd better fucking be. Now where are you.”

“Um,” David looked around. He knew where he was, but yet managed to sound uncertain. “The hospital?”

“THE-"

Gwen cut herself off, a loud inhale crackling along the speaker. David pictured Gwen holding the bridge of her nose between two fingers.

“The hospital? What the fuck happened?”

“…Max"

“Max.”

“Mhm.”

“God, what did he do to you this time?”

David furrowed his brows. _Max didn’t hurt me, in fact-_

“Max got hurt.”

The bluntness in his own tone caused David to shiver. He hated thinking about it. He hated thinking about what happened. _He hated thinking that Max might die. He hated thinking of what Max-_

“What.”

Gwen's monotone voice cut through his thoughts once again, snapping him out of his inner dialogue.

“Um… I don’t think Max would be OK with me telling you what happened, so the most I'll say is that some bad things happened and Max panicked and then got hurt.”

“Max? Panicking? What the hell-" Gwen cut herself off with a yell to (presumably) the campers. Something about the mess hall. “What the _fuck_ kind of _‘bad_ _things'_ happened for the little shit to feel emotion?”

“Um, well…” David badly wanted to spill everything out to Gwen, but he held himself back for the sake of Max’s pride. “He was sitting on the docks around the time we got back to our cabin. Insomnia, he said.” He chuckled sadly, the sound feeling foreign in his throat. “I found out some things about him. I don’t think he meant to tell me, and… well,” David gestured vaguely despite knowing Gwen wouldn't see it, “he panicked.”

Gwen was silent on the other end, taking in all of this newfound information.

“So… you talked to Max?”

“Yeah.”

“On a scale of 1-10, how much was fan-fiction material?”

“Um… 9?”

“Damn. So, it was emotional?”

“Kind of?”

Gwen huffed out a laugh, “Well, I guess that’s good, then.”

“Not really.”

David hated talking about this, even if he wasn’t even directly saying anything.

“’Not really’? What’d he say, then?”

“Gwen, I don’t think this is something I should tell you,” his face scrunched up in hesitance, “if you want to know, ask Max yourself. But I really think I should get back inside. I don’t know when the doctor will come back out to send Max off.”

He hoped he’d be able to take Max back. His frown deepened.

“OK, fine, I’ll leave you be. But you’d better be back here by tonight or I’m whipping your ass.”

And with that, Gwen hung up. David sighed, looking down at the phone when he took it away from his cheek. He _wanted_ to talk to somebody, but at the moment he was so emotionally drained that he didn’t think he could without snapping. It was uncommon for the ginger, so he didn’t want it to show.

He headed back inside, his leg resuming its’ incessant bouncing. About a half hour after the call, a doctor came out.

“David Greene?”

David sprung to his feet, rushing over to the doctor. Question after question sprung from his mouth, all of his worries showing themselves in queries.  
  


“How is Max? Is he OK? Is he sick? Will I be able to take him back today? Did- “

“Mr. Greene, please calm down. At 6:58, Max’s heart stopped beating- “

_“WHAT?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapters will be longer, I promise. I have a bunch of chaos prepared that will drag them on. This is just the beginning.


	3. Chapter 3 - David Fucks Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gwen calls again, and David fucks it up. This leads to some melancholy that causes chaos. Why? Because it's Camp Campbell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: *SMALL DEATH MENTION* *SMALL REFERENCE TO DROWNING* *PANIC ATTACKS* *IMPLIED SELF-HARM*

David’s yell was booming, it bouncing off the walls of the hospital. Thankfully, it was early in the town of Sleepy Peak, so not many patients were there. But it did shock the few who were.

Before David could get a single tear through, he was interrupted by a very _annoyed_ doctor.

“Mr. Greene, if you would just let me speak,” he huffed, rubbing his forehead as if he were warding off a migraine. He probably was. “His heart stopped beating. _Temporarily_.”

David wanted to cry. In fact, he _did_ cry, his overjoyed sobs rocking his frame.

“We managed to stabilize him, by some miracle. He’s very weak right now, though, so we won’t allow any visitors for a few hours until he wakes.”

David nodded vigorously, his smile wide, ignoring his sadness. He really wanted to see Max.

“We can give you a call when he- “

“No, no, it’s OK,” God, what was up with everyone cutting everyone off today? “I’ll stay here, if you’ll let me. I won’t bother anyone.”

The doctor stood there for a minute, examining David. He eventually seemed to come to a conclusion, sighing in defeat.

“You can stay.”

David’s tears started up again, and he hugged the doctor, “Oh thank you, thank you, _thank you!”  
  
_

The doctor, trying to stay professional, gently pushed David off of himself. He patted his shoulder, going back to work.

David’s smile stretched from ear to ear. He debated on calling Gwen, but decided that she was probably busy and would be able to wait on an update.

Still, David’s heart sunk. Max-apparently-nearly _died._ David almost didn’t save him in time. He decided to hold that thought off for later.

Now that he knew the boy was safe, he drifted off to think about… other things.

_He was 6. 6? Who could do that to a child?_

David huddled himself in a corner seat, dozing off.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Max felt like utter shit.

His bones ached, his throat felt like it was trying to tear apart, and his skin felt prickly. He just lied down for a minute, taking in the steady rhythm of a heartbeat monitor. He quickly registered that he was in a hospital.

Wonderful.

He tried to search his brain for why he was there, but only remembered going to the docks and being annoyed at David.

In his confusion, he let his eyes crack open. He heard a few voices to his right-nurses, he assumed. He never got visitors-and some lady came over him. She checked on a few things attached to him, and then a loud voice boomed through the door. His eyes widened, fully awake, and looked to his right.

There, in his stupid camp counselor uniform and cowlick hair-do, was the motherfucker he didn’t even know he wanted to see.

_David._

\---------------------------------------------------------

David was in the waiting room, sleeping. He dreamed of bonfires, Bob Ross videos, a small ghost child, his favorite camper smiling as he played with his frie-

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

David woke up, startled by the noise. He groggily answered, completely forgetting that he wasn’t allowed to make calls inside the hospital. Thankfully there were no employees or patients there. Typical Sleepy Peak behavior.

He rubbed at his eyes, trying to whisk away his grogginess.

“David, what _actually_ happened to Max?”

Gwen’s voice cut across the speaker, her voice angry but not loud. Yet.

David was still tired, so he took a while to respond. “Didn’t I tell you?”

“Yes, you did, but what actually happened to make him get _hurt?_ ”

David blinked. He could tell Gwen that part, right?

“He, uh, drowned.”

There was a beat of silence on the other end, and David figured that she was processing that information.

“OK, I guess that explains the damp hoodie,” she sighed, “he’s OK, right?”

David thought about that for a while. Technically, he was, but he also wasn’t.

David choked on his words, the truth hurting his heart, “Well, the doctor told me that Max died- “

Before David could finish his sentence, he heard a loud thumping sound. If the incoming quiet was anything to go by, David assumed Gwen dropped her phone. David would’ve too when he was personally told this, but he wasn’t holding anything at the time. He waited patiently for Gwen to pick her phone back up so he could give her the good side of that news. He was fully aware now, sitting up straight as he-

Gwen hung up.

David panicked a little, knowing that Gwen probably thought that Max was _still_ dead. He frowned when he re-dialed her number, ready to-

“David Greene?”

David’s head shot up, completely forgetting about his phone.

“Max woke up. Would you like to see him?”

David, with a new priority, shoved the now powered off cellular in his pocket. He jumped up, following the doctor into Max’s room.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Gwen was content. After her call with David, she knew Max was OK. If he was only slightly hurt, a small clinic visit should be enough. This let her be away from the tiny hell-raiser so that things could be a bit easier, even with David gone.

She headed back outside to the summer heat.

…And, of course, the campers weren’t in the mess hall.

She rolled her eyes, exasperated at them.

“Why are you guys not at breakfast?”

_“MAX IS DEAD!”_

Space Kid’s shout startled her, and she grunted. She did _not_ need to think of that possibility.

“No, he’s not, Space Kid. I called David and he said Max is only hurt. What the fuck made you think that?” She huffed.

Nikki held up her arms, showing Gwen one of Max’s hoodies.

It was damp, dripping with water. There was a large rip in it, and pieces of mud and algae clung to the fabric.

“We found this on the docks!”

Gwen’s heart rate sped up. Nikki and Space Kid were exaggerating. Max was OK. It’s not like he _drowned_ or anything, and David didn’t manage to save him in time. Max was just at the clinic. He… got scraped by the old wood and threw off his hoodie in anger!

Then why was it _on_ the docks?

Gwen tried to control her breathing. It wasn’t easy.

“He’ll be fine, kids. You know how Max is. The small fucker is like a cockroach.”

Neil scrunched up his face at Gwen’s words. All of the other children shrugged, accepting her comment.

“Even cockroaches can get hurt,” Neil accused.

“And that’s what he is. Just hurt. Nothing bad happened.”

Gwen walked over to them, accidentally kicking a lantern.

She recognized it. Besides the small cracks in it, it was identical to the electric one David and her kept in the cabin for when they went to check up on the campers. This meant that David took it with him, or Max stole it. Either way, it was on the ground, far from the lake.

That was fine, if the confusion wasn’t so overpowering. _Why_ was it so far from the docks? And why cracked? She only nudged it.

David… David exaggerated sometimes. Maybe he freaked out for no reason and dropped it?   
  
She shook her head, ignoring it.

“C’mon, you little shits. Breakfast.”

Breakfast somehow went smoothly.

  
The campers didn’t cause that much chaos, except for Space Kid crashing his rocket into Nurf’s mush, and the kid threatening the wannabe astronauts’ life. Nicely, though. It was odd.

Everyone was tense, scared that Max wasn’t OK. Even if they weren’t, his presence being gone was… weird.

So with that, Gwen let them do what they wanted once they were finished. She decided to make another call to David.

She dragged her feet to the counselor’s cabin, her fears weighing on her shoulders. A quick talk with the red-head should fix that.

Quickly pressing in the correct numbers, Gwen listened to the soft buzzing. She was getting impatient, and her anxiety was forming into anger.

Right before the last ring, David answered.

“David, what _actually_ happened to Max?” She roared. She desperately wanted to snap at him, let her dread show itself in unbridled rage, but she held back.

  
After a moment of waiting-in which Gwen had to clench her teeth to not yell-David spoke up, “Didn’t I tell you?”

She sighed, “Yes, you did, but what actually happened to make him get _hurt?_ ”

Another pause, “He, uh, drowned.”

_Fuck._ She tried to calm herself down, because based on David’s tone, it wasn’t as bad as she made it out to be.

She thinks. She was just trying to focus on the positives, like David always strained to get her to.

“OK, I guess that explains the damp hoodie,” kind of, she thought, “he’s OK, right?”

The silence was terrible. The longer it went on, the more she worried.

Finally, _finally_ , a choked voice croaked out, “Well, the doctor told me that Max died- “

That was it. That’s _it._ In her shock she dropped her phone, staring blankly at the wall. Now _this_ was a tone that meant “this _is_ as bad as it sounds”.

She took a while to get her bearings. She hated Max, he was a terrible hell-raiser, but he was _their_ hell-raiser. It wasn’t like he was her kid-as much as he acted like it-but she felt closer to the raven-haired child compared to the other campers. Maybe it was the fact that they both disdained the camp, maybe it was their shared hate of the world, but either way,

He was _gone._

If Max was only hurt, she’d be able to handle it. It was something reversible. Even if it lasted forever-like if he lost a leg-he would still be _alive._

This… This wasn’t reversible.

This was something she was going have to deal with _forever._

Not able to think of a response, she bent down and hung up. He didn’t call back, probably getting the message that she needed a minute.

_That only sets in more in stone. Fuck._

She curled up in a ball on the floor, following in her phone’s footsteps. She started to panic.

_Max is gone. The only tolerable kid in this camp is gone. What do I tell the campers?_ Do _I even tell the campers? I should definitely tell Nikki and Neil._ God. _Max is gone._

Her sobs were picked up by the ears of Nikki and Neil. They were about to come in, demanding more information about Max’s condition. They knew she also didn’t know that much either, but they were desperate.

Going inside, they saw Gwen huddled up on the floor in a fetal position.

“Gwen?” Nikki queried, reaching out for the female.

The contact shook Gwen out of her trance. She looked up at the kids, before wiping her damp eyes and sniffling.

“Kids, there’s something I should tell you.”

Her voice broke off at the end. The sentence alone was enough to send waves of fear into the duo.

“Max… he…” she trailed off, standing on wobbly knees to grab a tissue. She blew messily into it. “He died.”

Nikki and Neil’s backs snapped straight. _Dead? He can’t be._ They looked at each other, and then to the broken woman.

Gwen knew better than to joke about these things. Plus, she was a horrible actor. They knew this was real.

They sprinted out of the cabin, headed for the woods. Once deep into it, Nikki climbed to the top of a tree and screamed at the top of her lungs. Neil crumpled to the ground, asthmatic sobs overcoming his body as he puffed on his spare inhaler.

They didn’t want to think it was real.

They _refused_ to think it was real.

After they broke down, all they had to do was do things they would typically do with Max.

They tearfully devised a plan once Nikki got down and Neil’s breathing was more controlled.

They were gonna fuck up some camps.

Their plan was _totally_ foolproof.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Upon seeing his camper, David’s grin widened, “Max!”

Max whipped his head over to him. Emerald eyes sparkled with relief.

David then took in everything else. Especially Max’s arms that were exposed due to the hospital gown. There was little to no muscle there, and he could see the outlines of bone. Max’s arms were littered with precise cuts, some more faded than others. He held back a grimace at the ones that looked newer.

Besides his body, there were wires everywhere. He had a mask over his mouth, probably to help remove the water, or give him oxygen. Or both.

Instead of expressing his sorrow, he smiled down at the child.

“Hey kiddo, how are you feeling?”

Max glared at him. David could barely make out a _“like shit,”_ over the mask covering his mouth and Max’s scratchy throat. He just eyed him in sympathy.

David had so much he wanted to ask Max, but didn’t feel as if it was the right time nor place. Max appeared like he couldn’t talk very easily in the first place.

Max was glowering at him judgmentally, seemingly waiting for something.

David, unsure, sat in the chair next to Max’s bed. He huffed in confirmation.

Ah. So he was requesting for David to sit next to him. Cool. Max wants him to be there.

David was actually ecstatic knowing this.

The nurse that had previously been examining Max (David didn’t know when she got there) left the room, nodding at the doctor.

“Well, since Max is stable now, we’ll leave you two together. He should be released in at least 3 days. Press the button there if you need anything, Max. And Mr. Greene, if something happens to Max, press that or get the attention of a nurse.”

Both nodded, Max adding on a roll of his eyes. The man walked out of the room, ignoring Max’s rude attitude.

“You excited to hang out with me for the day?” David grinned.

Max groaned, internally thanking the mask for hiding his small smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, at least there isn't a cliffhanger! :)
> 
> Shout-out to those who commented! It really made my day.


	4. Chapter 4 - Chaos Ensues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nikki and Neil go along with their plan. Some fluff, along with three angry stuck-up females. Harrison decides to try and bring his brother back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: *GRIEVING*

Nikki and Neil’s plan was…

OK, maybe they didn’t know what they were doing, but hey! Max always just came up with a plan on the spot, so that’s what they were going to do.

All that they knew was that they were going to cause general chaos among the other camps. The Flower Scouts were first, so they grabbed a flamethrower and some paint. Not from the paint guns. That reminded them _too_ much of Max.

Getting into the camp wasn’t too hard because they were all inside for lunch. They’ve also done it before (as a trio), so they could navigate around the security cameras with relative ease. They think they might’ve missed a camera, but they knew if they were quick and kept their heads down, they’d be fine.

Being at the campsite before let them know where they were trying to go. They headed for the building with all of their incoming costumes.

They came to a conclusion: just fuck shit up.

Half of the site was set on fire, the rest splattered with paint. It was a messy job, but they couldn’t care less. They were angry, and for some dumb reason they decided to let it all out on the garments.

Even Neil couldn’t think properly. All logic was thrown out of the window.

Once they finished, they made a hasty retreat out one of the windows. Running back to their camp, they huffed in glee.

I mean, their vision was clouded by tears, but they didn’t care.

Neil had to stop half-way for a breath. He took out his inhaler, puffing a few needy inhales, and then hunched on the floor. He guzzled water from Nikki’s backpack.

Nikki plopped down next to Neil, leaning on his shoulder. Neil typically didn’t tend to accept affection like this, but he let it slide this one time. He _really_ wanted to snap at her, but part of his intellect was coming back to him. He’d let loose later.

The two just sat there, staring off into the deep expanse of the forest. They tried taking their mind off of Max, but knew the topic was unavoidable.

“I miss him.”

Nikki was the first to speak. Neil could hear her tears getting clogged in her throat.

“I do too.”

“What are we supposed to do without him?”

Neil looked down at his lap. He considered the question for a second.

“What we just did. Do what we always would. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

“But it’s not _working,_ ” Nikki roared, “we _just_ went out, and I already feel like shit again!”

Nikki’s body sagged, tuckered out. Neil had to contain his anger again.

“Shit like this takes time,” he commented, “tomorrow we can annoy the Wood Scouts.”

Nikki didn’t perk up at it like she usually would. This worried Neil. He wasn’t good with other people’s emotions, so he didn’t make a statement on it.

Neil exhaled, “let’s go back to camp.”

Nikki agreed, standing. She really needed something as a distraction.

They were much slower heading the rest of the way back then when they were going there, but they were losing energy. Both their bodies hung low. They’d occasionally snap at random rustling, and then at each other, but they got over it quickly.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Gwen hated everything.

She refused to believe that the little fucker was gone. So, she did what she did best: bitch.

The campers that were still at the campgrounds (A.K.A. everyone but Nikki and Neil. Gwen didn’t know where they were, but she could only assume that they were grieving. She let them be) started to notice Gwen’s unusual behavior. Once questioned about it, Gwen snapped.

This startled the children. Gwen realized and told them about Max.

As expected, this elicited many different responses from the campers.

Ered and Nurf were shocked and distressed. Neither cared much for Max, but could respect the guy. They were also the oldest ones there, so they understood the severity of the situation.

Harrison was shot head-first into the denial phase. He already lost his brother. He felt like it was his fault for some reason.

Preston’s eyes lit up for a fraction of a second, sensing the possibility of a play, and then it hit him. He didn’t know why it messed him up so badly.

Nerris was saddened. She and Max never really got along, but he was still a human being. She knew that nobody deserved to have their fate sealed so quickly; and without a medic around to help, at that.

Dolph and Space Kid were confused. Being the youngest campers, they didn’t understand the concept. Judging by everyone else’s reactions, they could guess it meant bad things.

Gwen huffed, walking away. She didn’t have the power to deal with emotional bastards yet.

Around the time Gwen left, Nikki and Neil showed up. The others looked to them, sympathy deep in their eyes. The duo scrunched up their noses in disgust. They wanted to be left alone.

“Fuck off.”

They dragged themselves over to Nikki’s tent. (They couldn’t go to Neil’s tent. Seeing Max’s stuff would only set off another whirlwind of emotions.) Plopping down onto the girl’s cot, they zoned out once again. They were grateful for the peace and quiet.

\---------------------------------------------------------

“Hey-a, champ! I got food!”

David skipped gleefully into Max’s room. The child glared at him in response.

Max was finally allowed to have his mask removed. It wasn’t lunch time yet, but Max was starving. But also, not. His stomach hurt. Besides all of that, he also finally managed to recall what happened. Apparently, Max didn’t start breathing much until a while under water (the doctor’s theory,) so he only suffered a little. David had gotten a majority of the water out of him before he could fully drown.

He also remembered the interaction before his panic. He knew David had something to say about it.

He was given some bland hospital food, only a slight upgrade from what he was fed by the Quartermaster.

David sat in his usual chair next to the boy. He had an inquiry on his mind.

“Do you mind clarifying what you meant, Max?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Max retorted a little too quickly.

“About your virginity,” David got a chill down his spine. The bluntness was back and it made him uncomfortable. In order for Max to not get defensive like he was expecting, he swiftly tacked on, “I’m not mad.”

Max stared blankly at his food. He wasn’t hungry anymore.

He didn’t want to talk about it, but Max knew he had no choice. He could only hope that David wouldn’t use it against him.

“What about it?” He squeaked out, “I meant what I said.”

“Who took it? I want to make sure you’re safe.”

Max sighed, letting his head hit his pillow. He regretted it a second later, his booming headache protesting. He also was now holding his tray at a weird angle.

He _didn’t want to talk about it._

Still, he felt like he could trust the ginger.

“Dad,” was all Max said.

David’s eyebrows shot up. That was the _last_ answer he wanted to hear.

“Does…” The man trailed off, trying to choose his words carefully, “does he still do it?”

Max huffed, not answering. David knew what that meant. His heart sank to the floor.

“Max, I am so sor- “

“Don’t,” Max shot up, hating himself for making his head hurt so much. He glowered at him.

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t you _dare_ fucking pity me, or I’ll send you off to some creepy clown on the streets to tear up your body and sell it on the dark web.”

Max wasn’t actually going to, but it scared David enough to shut him up.

The two sat in silence, looking in different directions.

At some point, Max scooted up next to David. He leaned his side against the man’s arm.

David smiled.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Once the kids were done with lunch, they split up once again. Gwen still hadn’t emerged from the cabin, so they all did their own things. Most of them hid away to cry or hit something, the others just loitered around.

Suddenly: Flower Scouts.

They crashed their boats into the shore, not caring about if they looked pretty or not.

_(Nikki and Neil ducked their heads. They knew they fucked up.)_

“Where the _HELL_ is that dumb-ass trio?” Screeched Sasha

Everyone tilted their heads in confusion.

“Oh, don’t act dumb. You know what you did,” Erin spat. She glared at Nikki and Neil.

“You know, we should only punish the girl and the other boy, Neil wouldn’t-”

“Shut _UP,_ Tabii!” Sasha growled, “Where’s the short one?”

All of the Camp Campbell campers cringed. None of them could bring themselves to speak up.

Erin and Sasha swept their eyes over the camp. (Tabii kept her lovesick eyes locked on Neil.)

“Obviously something happened causing all of this tension,” Erin gagged, “so we’ll come back another time. But you bet your asses that we’re coming back to fuck you all up.”

“What the fuck happened?” Gwen finally arrived; her eyes blazed in rage.

“They,” Erin pointed to Nikki and Neil, “ruined all of our incoming runway outfits!”

“How’d you know that?!” Nikki screamed.

“You’re not _slick,_ ” Sasha scoffed, “we saw you in our cameras. And your work was so messy, it obviously wasn’t the Wood Scouts. As dumb as they are. Though, to be fair, we were shocked. You guys usually do a _decent_ job. Pitiful.”

Nikki deflated, and Neil scuffed his shoe on the grass in shame. Max would be disappointed in them.

“Just get your prissy asses out of here,” Gwen waved them off.

They huffed, getting on their boats.

“You’re going fucking _regret_ crossing us.”

And with that, they rowed away.

\---------------------------------------------------------

David called after lunch to check in on Gwen.

She grunted, getting up from her bed.

“Hello Gwen! How is everything over at camp?”

Gwen’s mouth dropped a little at David’s oblivious cheer. He must’ve been in denial. Or, he just quickly had gotten over it. She smacked herself for focusing on it for as long as she had. She’s an adult.

“Things are great!” They actually were. Nobody was acting up. The only thing she had to fake was her glee; she was miserable. But if David was fine, he wouldn’t want her depression and anxiety burdening him. She frowned.

“Oh, that’s splendid,” David’s smile was heard through the speaker, “I’m very proud of the kids!”

She blinked back tears, “Yeah, me too. They’re handling it surprisingly well. I thought that they were going to start a revolution at this point.”

“Oh, don’t worry! Being on your own shouldn’t be too hard.”

Gwen scrunched up her nose. No, it wasn’t hard. It was near impossible. She missed Max, and really wanted David here with her so that he could take charge while she cried in peace.

“Yeah,” she fibbed, “anyways, what about you?”

“Oh, I- “

David was cut off by a loud screech.

It didn’t sound like any of her campers. Shit.

Looking out of the window, Gwen spotted the Flower Scouts having a debate with the kids.

“Shit.”

“What happened?”

“Look, David, I have to go. The Flower Scouts are here.”

“OK! Remember to welcome them in with open arms!”

“Sure,” she mumbled. She hung up as she stormed out to the lake.

“What the fuck happened?”

\---------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Harrison was sitting in his tent fiddling with all of his equipment. He already lost two people, so he wanted to finally crack the whip and figure out how to bring them back.

He tried many different variables, but none of them seemed to come through. He tested it on animals, but either they wouldn't return or only a limb would flop through. It was disgusting.

After hours of testing, he finally found something that seemed to work. It was a little messy, but he believed in himself.

Aiming a portal-like crevice in his tent, he directed all of his power into thinking about his brother. He just had to hope.

_Finally,_ something crawled out of it.

Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said there was going to be fluff! And... there is! :D
> 
> You guys have every right to hate me.


	5. Chapter 5 - Panic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What the chapter title says: panic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: *PANIC ATTACKS* *CHILD ABUSE*

Nikki and Neil were in the former’s tent. She had her own because of her energy and late arrival, so they were able to work in peace.

Right when the two woke, they started to plan. Obviously, they weren’t careful enough with the Flower Scouts. They had to be more cautious with the Wood Scouts.

It had been a full day since they initially got the news, but they haven’t felt any better.

They knew they disappointed Max, so they wanted to make it count this time. The Wood Scouts had hurt Max in the past, and this was going to make up for it.

They set out early in the morning, before the offending campers were awake. They heard shuffling from both Harrison and Preston’s tents, but ultimately decided to ignore it.

Nikki and Neil split up for a minute, gathering supplies. They got loppers, toilet paper, scissors, and markers.

Their attack was similar to the Flower Scouts. It was flawed, but the duo didn’t care. Exactly the same as last time.

_Exactly_ the same. Mistakes and all.

They threw toilet paper over all of the security cameras. They didn’t care for the watching towers, knowing that nobody was there.

They cut up the rope courses with the loppers, aware that Max got caught on one before. They resented this camp for that.

They tore up some of the tents they knew were unoccupied with the scissors, and ones that did have campers got delicately placed marks. They didn’t really create anything with the markers, only pressing them against posts so that the fabric wouldn’t sway.

Finally, the main tent got the last of the toilet paper.

They ran off, a little more satisfied with their work than last time.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Preston was poised on his stage, reciting lines from Shakespeare. Breakfast hadn’t even started yet, but he needed to distract himself from the elephant in the room.

Speaking of elephants.

Preston jumped when he heard a loud, low grumble from the tents. He couldn’t see exactly what happened, so he rushed over to the source.

Stomping dangerously close to some of the other tents was an elephant. Harrison’s tent was atop its’ back, and the owner of said shelter was standing near it with a horrified look in his eyes.

All of the campers emerged from their cots, expressions mixed with awe and horror.

Gwen came running over. She was already prepared for the day, as she was about to get up to wake the kids.

Preston looked around, not knowing what to do with himself. The thing was so big, and Preston was uncomfortable.

He ran off to the woods right as Gwen ushered everyone else into the mess hall.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Max woke up before David. He was groggy, his body sore. He felt even worse than he did the day before, somehow.

He looked over to the redhead. He was allowed to stay, saying that Max needed someone with him and insisting that his co-worker had the camp under control. She didn’t, but he got where David was coming from. He secretly liked the company anyways.

Turning his aching body, Max faced the window.

He thought about his situation. In his tired (semi-delirious) state, he accidentally let David know a little bit more than he should. He already knew enough.

To be honest, he didn’t mind that information. He trusted the man, and David hadn’t done anything against the child. He figured allowing himself to open up wouldn’t hurt. Even if it did, he’s dealt with worse. He figured he could handle it.

Well, more-or-less. He could deal with it if it were anyone else. David, though? He might break. He saw the peppy man as a father figure-or, something. He didn’t focus on the thought for too long.

He heard shuffling behind him. Rotating to glance over his back, he came face-to-face with an exhausted David.

Once David came to, he cracked a smile at the boy. Max had to force down a smirk in response.

“Mornin’, bud. How’re you feeling?”

Max didn’t fight the nickname like he did last time. Instead he lied his spine against the bed, looking to the ceiling. He shrugged as an answer. His throat still hurt.

“Do you want anything?”

Max glanced at David, pointing to his throat. David nodded and headed out.

Now alone, Max delved into his mind. Most of his thoughts were about David.

David didn’t treat him any different. He was still persistently joyful, constantly smiling. He found security in it, the childish part in his mind desperately wanting to accept the affection. It made him uncertain, not knowing how to approach it.

That being said, he decided it’d be easier to just let it happen.

David returned a short while later, a small cup and tray in his hands. He figured the small amount of water and food made sense. He wasn’t sure he could even stomach more than what David was holding in front of him.

“While you eat, I’m gonna check in on Gwen, alright?”

He nodded. He didn’t really care. He kind of felt bad for the woman, but the other part of him was laughing at her misery. He knew the campers were causing chaos. He could count on Nikki and Neil to lead it.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Gwen was overjoyed that the Quarter Master was still at the mess hall. She had him deal with the elephant, which he (somehow) managed to do. Even if it was gone, she had to rebuild some of the tents and do… something to the fallen trees. There were only three, but one was on top one of the tents, the second blocking the entrance to another, and the third was leaning dangerously on a still standing tree. In times like this, she really just wanted David back.

A while after her trying to figure out the best plan of attack on the tent area, her phone started ringing. She excused herself outside to answer.

“Hello again, Gwen! Just checking in.”

Gwen faked delight, even while knowing that she was still on the anger phase of grief. It was taking too long for her to recover. She hated how David could manage it.

“Wonderful,” she lied, “nothing eventful has really happened!”

“How was your visit with the Flower Scouts?”

She sneered. Oh, God. “Good,” she lied again, “they just wanted to have a friendly battle.”

_“Friendly” is one way to put it,_ Gwen thought.

“Splendid!”

“Hey, David, why haven’t you come back yet?”

She needed his help, and he still wasn’t here. She wanted to know when to expect him to return.

“I have to look after Max, of course!”

She sighed. She knew Max’s parents were most likely neglectful, but damn. Not even hosting their own son’s funeral? Now, that was a whole other level of shittiness. Good thing Max had David to care about him.

Gwen knew a bit about David’s family, and since his mother had left all of her money to him in her will, once he was 18, he was immediately rich. He didn’t know his dad, so he wasn’t aware if he was alive-or if he even had a will-but his mother was wealthy. David was careful with his spending, so he still had… like… twelve times more cash than Gwen. He was only 24, so 6 years of barely using the money meant he could probably pay for Max’s funeral and-if he wanted-a gravestone. He was just… someone that would do that.

“Well, good on you for doing that.”

“Hey, Gwen?”

Gwen turned around and saw Harrison peeking out of the mess hall doors. He probably still felt bad about the whole elephant thing.

“Sorry David, Harrison needs me. I need to get going,” she didn’t want David to overhear the conversation if it had anything to do with what happened not too long ago.

“Alrighty! Have a good day!”

Gwen tucked her phone away, trudging over to Harrison.

“What,” she snapped.

“Where’s Preston? He hasn’t been here all morning…” he trailed off.

Gwen’s anxiety shot through the roof (if there was one). Hundreds of scenarios ran through her mind.

_What happened to him? Did he get kidnapped? Did the Quartermaster do something? Did he get hurt? Is he dead? Did he drown?_

“Gwen.”

_“FUCK,”_ Gwen cried out. She turned to the perpetrator, eyes wide and frantic. She narrowed them in annoyance once she saw Neil and Nikki.

“What.”

“Preston’s out in the woods and bleeding so go do something,” Neil grumbled. Gwen ignored his uncaring stature in favor of panicking about the “bleeding” part.

She couldn’t catch a break.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Max came to the conclusion that he hated doctors. He’d been to hospitals before, so he wasn’t bothered by that, but this doctor made him do so much shit.

“We’re taking you to get an x-ray, Max.”

He was confused by that. David was confused by that. Why’d he have to get one?

Before being able to question him, Max was ushered out of the room. David had to stay behind.

The process was quick but annoying. He didn’t want to be there; he wanted David back.

He also hated having to expose his scarred and imperfect body. It made him self-conscious.

They took a few scans of his torso. They said they wanted to do his arms at a later date because of the radiation. Max just wanted to know why they needed the scan in the first place.

Turns out that he didn’t like the answer.

He was shown a screen of his rib cage. On one of his lower ribs was a small fracture. The doctor said they couldn’t treat it because it must’ve been so old by the way it “healed”.

“Do you know where this came from?”

Max’s hand immediately went to the crack. He could vaguely remember. His memory was faulty, and he only could get a grasp on some things if there was something to trigger it.

Seeing the crack and hearing the question seemed to kick-start his brain.

_“Learn your place. You don’t get to talk back to me.”_

_Max was backing away from his father. The man only got closer._

_“Sending you to that camp was a mistake.”_

_Despite saying that when Max was 6 or 7, he still was taken away every year. It was the only good thing the man did._

Max hung his head in shame. The doctor waited patiently for a response.

_“I’m sorry, pita, I’m so sorry- “_

Max started to dissociate.

_“I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry- “_

  
Max felt like someone was shaking him, but it only set him deeper into panic.

_“You’d better be sorry,” his father growled, “’cause you’re about to learn your lesson.”_

_A punch to his jaw_

Max flinched and cried out. The phantom pain was too much. The hand on his shoulder left and there was shouting around him.

_Even before his father threw him, he felt like he was flying. He tumbled down the stairs, hearing a terrifying crack when his chest hit the desk at the bottom of the stairs. He didn’t even know how his body managed to find itself in that position, but it did anyways._

A nurse ran out of the room. Max didn’t notice.

_He screamed out in pain, crumpling into a ball. He clutched onto his torso._

Max didn’t realize that he was doing the same thing in front of the doctor.  
  


_Despite being in unfathomable pain, he still managed to speak._

A familiar red-head rushed into the area. He crouched down a across the room from Max, but the boy didn’t see it. His head was tucked into his knees.

_“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,”_

“There’s nothing to be sorry for, Max. It’s me, David.

_“I fucked up, pita. Pita. Pita.” He was openly sobbing at this point._

“No you didn’t, Max. Just look at me. You’re OK.”

David didn’t touch Max. He didn’t think it’d be alright with the sobbing boy.

_“Please forgive me, I’m sorry, s- s-, mujhe maa- “_

“You’re OK, Max. I’m right here. David’s got you.”

_“Nahin, nahin, nahin, na- “_

_Max stumbled over his words, unable to think correctly. Whenever he panicked, he’d always resort to Hindi. He knew it better._

“Max,” David spoke louder. Max snapped out of it enough to look up at David. He just as quickly dissolved back into a ball. He barely registered the ginger’s face.

_“Kr- “ he started, but was cut off by a cough. His face scrunched up in pain._

“Max, calm down. You’re OK. I’m David. I’m not gonna hurt you.”

_“Nahin.”_

“You’re safe.”

_“Ph- Pita.” He was choking on his words._

“I’ve got you, Max. I’m David. Your happy camp counselor.”

Max looked up.

_Max looked up. He had gone a while without his father yelling at him, so he was confused. He was a little more lucid at that point._

_He was confused when he saw a familiar smiley man in front of him._

_After a bit of frantic searching, he connected the face to his counselor and father figure: David._

David.

His shuddering died down (why was he trembling? He felt stupid) and he rubbed at his face. His chest still hurt, but less than it did two seconds ago.

“Hey, buddy. You with me?”

Max nodded. He sat up against the wall he was near.

David grinned, “do you want a hug?”

He shook his head. To be honest, he kind of did, but the phantom pains hadn’t completely warded off. Also, there were other people there.

David only smiled larger. He was expecting that response.

“Alright.”

The doctor walked between the two. They both looked up.

“I’ll let you two stay in his room for a few more minutes, and then I need to speak to you, Mr. Greene.”

David got up with a nod, motioning for Max to follow him.

The boy did, albeit shakily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I start doing recaps at the beginning until all parts are posted?
> 
> Either way, we're about half way through! This chapter plus the next are huge climaxes (there's a lot, but y'know). So, unless I add more onto the ending, we're getting there!
> 
> Speaking of the next chapter... Prepare yourselves. :(


	6. Chapter 6 - Injuries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some things happen before and after dinner that don't end well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: *CHILD ABUSE* *SEMI-GRAPHIC BLOOD*

“Woe is me,” Preston cried out, his uninjured arm rested on his forehead, “for I have injured thine self.”

Preston grimaced at his phrasing. He was in so much pain that he couldn’t even recite a good soliloquy!

The young actor was sitting against a tree, the same one that wounded his forearm. He had tripped on a large rock, scrapping himself on a nearby branch.

He continued his monologue, making dramatic gestures as he played out his feelings.

Suddenly two figures came sprinting by the child. He called out, leaning forwards slightly.

Nikki and Neil emerged from the brush, the latter panting a bit. Preston knew the nerd wasn’t much of a runner.

“I’ve harmed myself,” Preston signaled to his arm, “and would love if you two knights would grab Gwen to assist me.”

“Why?”

Preston jumped a little at Nikki’s disrespect. She usually would love to be dubbed a knight.

“Because I’m hurt,” he frowned.

“Why not just get up and get her yourself?” Neil queried, scowling at the playwright.

Preston rolled his eyes. Insolent barbarians.

“I’m in pain.”

“You’re barely bleeding,” Nikki pointed out.

“Just go!”

The two looked at each other in irritation, then walked off.

To pass the time, Preston performed some Shakespearean scenes. It took a half hour for them to return.

“PRESTON! Preston, where are you?! What do you mean by _‘you don’t remember where he was?’_ Especially you, Nikki!”

“Over here!” Preston belted out.

Preston heard the adult wheezing her way over to him. Once she appeared next to the poet, he could see the panic in her eyes.

Upon looking at the scratch, Gwen’s face fell into annoyance.

“Good,” Preston sighed, “you’re finally here.”

He jumped to his feet, holding his arm out to the woman. She turned and marched off.

“Wait! I need your aide!”

Preston chased after her, Nikki and Neil slowly following behind.

Once Preston was (messily) patched up, and deemed himself healthy enough, it was lunch time.

Yeah, he took a while to suck it up.

\---------------------------------------------------------

The Wood Scouts were pissed. There were plenty of people they could blame, but knew it was the Campbell campers. Not only would they do something like this, but the Flower Scouts had told them about what happened to their camp.

They teamed up with the girls to plan their revenge.

Snake and Erin wrote a note together to the counselors warning them of what’s to come. It was a fear tactic that they knew would work.

\---------------------------------------------------------

As promised, the doctor took David out of the room after a few minutes. David was worried for whatever the doctor wanted to tell him.

“I’ll start off with this: one of Max’s ribs are cracked,” he began. David whined in sympathy.

“You saw the reaction to that. We’ll have to ask him what some of those words were, like _pita_ and _nahin_ ,” he butchered the pronunciations, “and then figure it out from then.”

“Why am I here, then? Do you want me to ask him?”

“Yes, Max seems to trust you the most. You also looked like you knew how to approach him,” David nodded, “but we also have a feeling this has something to do with his family.”

David’s frown deepened. He thought the same thing.

“As mandated reporters, if that turns out to be the case, we’ll need to report him to the police.”

“I know some things,” David interrupted. The doctor raised an eyebrow.

“Him telling me something about his father is the reason all of this happened.”

“You can give a report to the police tomorrow. Tell them everything you know about Max’s situation.”

David gave him a thumbs up, and the doctor excused him. He skipped into Max’s room, a semi-fake smile on his face. Max waved slightly at him.

“Hey buddy!”

“That was quick.”

“They just wanted to talk about what happened back there,” Max winced, “and your ribs. You’re not in trouble.”  
  


Max only grumbled. David placed a hand on his shoulder. By the way Max didn’t pull away or flinch, he assumed he was warming up to the man. David’s grin widened.

“Mind telling me what those words you said back there meant, Max?” At Max’s raised eyebrow, he clarified, “you know, like, _nahin, pita._ ” He did much better on the accent compared to the doctor, but it still wasn’t perfect.

Max frowned, “so you heard that?” David nodded. He wasn’t surprised that Max didn’t remember it.

He sighed, “ _pita_ means ‘father,’ and _nahin_ means ‘no’.”

David held back a glower. He knew it.

“Well, it’s very cool that you’re bi-lingual, Max!” he exclaimed, “Not everybody can do that.”

Max blushed in embarrassment, ducking his head. Still, though, his chest puffed up in pride.

David opened his arms, facing fully towards the boy. Max spent a few seconds just staring, assessing the man. David waited patiently for a reaction.

Then, Max leaned towards him, letting the ginger wrap him in his arms. Max didn’t hug back, but he felt much better.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Before dinner, Dolph was trotting back from the activities field. He was going to the mess hall, taking the route closest to the lake, deciding to walk for a little bit longer because he was early.

On his trip, he stepped on a sharp object. He was walking barefooted (Preston had him acting as a disciple or something and he didn’t have sandals) so it entered his foot.

Looking down, Dolph saw a piece of plastic from a broken lantern embedded in his foot. It didn’t look terribly bad, but he did need to seek some medical attention. He was bleeding slightly, some of it splattering onto the light source.

The boy knew that there were barely any of the materials necessary to treat his wound at camp, so he grabbed a strong stick and large leaf. Lifting his foot a tad and letting it wobble below him, he headed off to the lake. He used the stick to help hop his way over.

Once arriving to the docks, he flung his foot over the side. He washed his foot off in the lake (being careful to retreat quickly, there might be piranhas) slowly removing the plastic. Once it was out, he cleaned himself off a bit more, and then wrapped the base with the leaf. He grabbed a stray string from a rope used for docking and tied it.

He wobbled over to his tent, getting shoes on. He didn’t want to worry Gwen more and tell her about his situation, so he only hoped it didn’t get infected.

He went back to the mess hall, hiding a limp.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Everything was calm, Gwen thought. Things were actually tranquil for the first time in what felt like forever. The only issues that Gwen had to face were the things with both Harrison and Preston in the morning, and then Nikki crying her eyes out during lunch.

Well, that, but also that the Flower Scouts and Wood Scouts were out for blood. Camp Campbell blood, specifically. This was probably a problem.

Returning from dinner, Gwen was surprised with how everything was going well. Then, of course, she saw a letter on her bed.

It was basically a passive aggressive note from their opposing camps saying how she and her campers had to watch their backs.

She was _sooo_ excited.

Swallowing down her anxiety, she hopped into her bed.

\---------------------------------------------------------

David couldn’t sleep. His insomnia hit terribly, his mind playing all of the information about Max on repeat. He felt terrible for the boy. Nobody should have to go through all of that.

Knowing he wouldn’t be able to rest, he left around midnight. He wrote a note for Max letting him know where he was going just in case the child would wake before he got back.

He drove off to his house in Sleepy Peak. He lived in a lovely suburban area, not too far from the rural part he just exited.

His house was nice and welcoming. It was a small split floor plan, its exterior and interior making it seem more like a cottage. He loved it.

It had three bedrooms, two on the top floor and one on the bottom. He was a registered foster parent, so he and the kids’ were on the top. If any friends visited, they would get the one on the bottom floor.

There were two bathrooms. One connected to his room on the top, and another across the hall from the room downstairs.

Along with the guest room and bathroom underneath the main floor, there was a play area, laundry room (only accessible through the bedroom) and the crawl-through basement. The play area was reserved for any rowdy or young children that he got. There was a toy box along with a doll house and cars. He didn’t care what the kids played with regardless of their gender, so they weren’t really organized by color. Everything was mixed in with each other.

On the main floor was the living room and kitchen. Nothing interesting. The living room had a medium-sized couch, a comfy chair, television, and computer. The kitchen had a dining table pushed on the wall opposite from the porch, a microwave near it. The garage was linked to the kitchen, and was plain, his car stored in there along with some construction materials and tool boxes.

Outside, he had a grill, another table with an umbrella, and a few outdoor toys.

The front of his house had a lovely garden and a nice bush near the doorway. There was a small hill that was decent for sledding.

The first thing David did upon entering his house (after smiling at the sight of it) was grab some clothes and pack them in a bag. He kept some with him so he could shower.

After all of that, he got dressed and styled his hair a bit. He also checked his garden to make sure his neighbor was keeping good care for it.

Satisfied, he drove back to the hospital.

Once parked, he got out and called Gwen.  
  


\---------------------------------------------------------

Gwen woke up to her phone ringing obnoxiously. Snatching it off of her desk, she answered.

“Y’ellow?”

“Hey, Gwen! I know it’s super early, but I’m awake before everyone else, so I figured that now was better than ever to call you! I know you’re busy, and I have to take care of Max, so-”

“David,” Gwen interrupted. She knew he had to do preparations and shit for the funeral so she didn’t care. (OK, maybe she did a _little,_ but she wasn’t going to tell David that.) She knew that the morning was the best time already.

“Sorry! Rambling. How are thing going with the camp?”

She almost told the truth, but held her tongue right before she spilled the beans.

“They’re fine. Nothing much has changed over the past couple days.”

David made a happy sound over the speaker. Gwen rolled her eyes.

“I’ll leave you to it, then! Have fun!”

Gwen grunted in response, lifting herself up to get ready for the day.

As she went over her daily routine, she thought back to the tents. She had yet to fix the damaged ones, instead shoving people previously in singular tents together. (She left Max’s tent alone as a sort of shrine.) She’d deal with it all today. Maybe she could have QM tear it all down with a chainsaw.

She walked out of the counselors’ cabin, dragging her feet.

Gwen accidentally hit her toe against something solid, rolling it over slightly.

Looking down, Gwen saw the lantern from a few days ago. She must’ve forgotten to clean it up. She wasn’t surprised.

On a second glance, she noticed that there were spots of blood on it. Specifically in the middle.

In the midst of her panic when Space Kid and Nikki were making assumptions (that proved later to be true) she must not have noticed it.

She observed a very faint and splotchy blood trail. She followed it all the way to the pier.

_Oh my God._

All her years of Nancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes seemed to prepare her for this very moment.

_That’s Max’s blood._

She started to form conclusions. Gwen could basically see the crime played out in front of her.

_Someone hit Max with the lantern, killing him instantly,_ her mind supplied _, and in the midst of cleaning up the evidence, tried to cover it up as drowning._

It explained the bloody trail and lantern, plus the wet jacket. Why would the garment be off of the boy, laying on the docks, if Max had _just_ drowned? It was also unexplainably ripped, probably a product of trying to dirty it up on purpose.

However, that _didn’t_ explain the hospital visit, nor the doctor’s consensus. If he died right away why did it take so long to figure it out? And why wasn’t the blood trail going straight to the car if he was taken there in the first place?

She gasped in fear once she pieced everything together.

_David killed Max._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys... my- my hand... i t... it ke e ps s li p pin g....
> 
> Please don't kill me. :(
> 
> Some tags have been added if you haven't noticed.


	7. Chapter 7 - Confessions and Bombs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max opens up to David. Space Kid finds some weird device.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: *TALK OF ABUSE* *TALK OF UNDER-AGED RAPE*
> 
> This one isn't as long as it could be, but I had to cut some scenes down so it didn't drag.
> 
> Read the end notes!!!

Space Kid was skipping along the activities field. Suddenly-in the center-he spotted a patch of leaves seeming to cover something. It blended in well, but it was in his way.

His astronaut instincts took over, and he trotted over to it.

“Unknown object sighted.”

Upon giving his observation into his cardboard suit, he shifted the leaves away from the item. He heard soft ticking coming from it.

Lifting it up, he noticed that it was a black rectangular box with a few red cylinders around it. There were colored wires everywhere, connecting to the tubes. On the box was a small screen with red numbers blinking at him. He put a finger to his chin, inspecting them.

_“01:14:45”_

The numbers were going down, right to left. A timer!

Space Kid lit up at his thought. He was so smart!

Tucking it under his arm, he skipped over to his area of the activities field. He lied it down, deciding to return for it later. He only had time for his initial mission before breakfast!

\---------------------------------------------------------

Nikki and Neil were in the bargaining phase. Neil was praying to God, kneeling down next to his bed. (He moved in with Nikki after the elephant incident. Gwen didn’t pay attention to who got with who.) Nikki didn’t really believe in anything, but she was still thinking hard. She sat on her bed, drifting off as she thought about _what if_ ’s.

“I can’t help but feel like this is somehow our fault,” Neil commented as he stood up. Nikki looked over quizzingly as he sat on his bed, facing the girl.

She eventually shrugged, leaning her head on her hand. “I want to say it’s not, but I agree,” she sighed, “If only we were there.”

Neil nodded. He briefly thought about how there _was_ nothing they could do. They were asleep.

He brushed it off quickly. He wanted to blame someone, and he was fine with himself taking it.

They stayed there in silence for a while. Neither could think of much to say.

Nikki suddenly spoke, asking, “Am I a good friend?”

Neil’s eyes widened, and he swiftly turned to the girl. Her head was bowed, refusing to look the nerd in the eye.

“Yes!” Neil loudly exclaimed. He shot off his bed, rushing over to her. “What made you think that you're not?”

She was still looking away. She rubbed her neck, mumbling under her breath.

“Nik?” Neil prompted. Not knowing how to approach her, he just wrung his hands in front of his chest.

She shook her head, dismissing it. Neil looked around for a bit before settling himself down next to her.

He didn’t push her any more, instead opting to put a nervous hand on her shoulder. She gave a shaky smile up at him.  
  


\---------------------------------------------------------

David stepped into Max’s room once he had gotten breakfast for the both of them. This time, Max was still asleep. David beamed as he spotted the resting boy. He seemed so peaceful.

David shook the boy slightly. Max groaned softly, turning to squint at David.

“Hey, kiddo,” Max’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. David’s voice was gentle; a huge contrast to his typical booming attitude. “I’ve got breakfast.”

Max sat up, rubbing his eyes. David suppressed a squeal at the cute scene.

Giving the man a crooked smirk, Max spoke, “coffee?”

David chuckled, “sorry, Max. No coffee. I don’t think they’ll let me do that.”

Max frowned grumpily. He wasn’t really that mad, considering it made sense. David made his façade a feat once he patted his head fatherly. Max had to hold himself back from tilting into it.

They ate quietly. Max was much more relaxed than at camp. He felt safe with David. He wasn’t afraid to show affection to the ginger. Not like David seemed to mind.

Still, Max couldn’t help but feel like he was burdening David. He didn’t have to be there, looking after a brat that either was panicking or being a dick.

OK, maybe the raven-haired child was a _little_ scared. But who could blame him? He wasn’t used to this.

After eating, David wrapped his arm around the kid. Max rested into it. He tried to ignore his stupid thoughts.

“The police are coming today,” he started. Max tensed. “You don’t have to talk to them if you don’t want to, but I’d like if you’d tell _me_ some of what’s going on. I want you to be safe and out of that house.”

Max relaxed. He didn’t want to talk to the cops, and was thankful for David being there. He re-tensed once he realized that he had to open up in general.

He could try, he guessed. He scooted away a bit to look at David.

“So… you already know about… you know,” he cautiously croaked out. David nodded encouragingly.

“My mom doesn’t know about it,” he mumbled, “she doesn’t know about anything.”

He huffed out a shaky breath. “Dad… hits her,” Max paused, “it’s not often for her, but he can get drunk. _Really_ drunk.

“She comes sobbing to me a lot. I feel bad ‘cause- cause I go through the same thing, y’know? So I kinda just… sit there. Let her hug me as she cries.”

David didn’t speak as silent tears went down the child’s face. Only frowned at him sympathetically.

“And it’s so fucking _dumb_ because _I’m_ the child, right?” He looked hopelessly at his hands, clenching and unclenching them. “I shouldn’t have to comfort her. But I _do_ because of my shitty fucking human sympathy or whatever.

“But… I know how dad is. He hits _hard_ sometimes. I broke… that fracture in my ribs is from when he threw me down the stairs.”

David was suddenly reminded of how loudly Max was screaming the day before. He winced.

“He was mad cause I shit-talked him,” Max’s tears weren’t as silent as before, small sobs shaking his tiny figure, “a-and he threw me.”

David leaned forward, slowly moving himself to brush tears away from emerald eyes. Max didn’t react.

“It’s like… come _on,_ I’m your damn _son,_ and you can’t- you can’t even-“ Max sniffled, rubbing his nose with his arm, “you ca-an’t even fucking not- not _rape_ me,” David balled the hand not touching Max’s face in a fist, “because- ‘cause you’re a _dick._

“I was always so scared when he came ho-ome. ‘Cause either he’d use me like his f-fucking punching bag o-or slut, and I just-” Max blubbered pitifully. David rubbed his arm soothingly, “mom never noticed, so it just- _why_ even talk about it, y’know?

“The lock on my door’s o-on the outside, so I always have to hide in my clo-oset, or whatever I was closest to. Like- like the bathroom, or something,” Max ducked his head, “he always finds me.

“Nobody really ever questioned my hood- hoodie. And I was never caught with it off,” Max leaned his head against David’s supportive palm. “I always kinda wished they would. Ev-ever since I realized that this wasn’t- it wasn’t normal, I just-” he let out a dejected whimper, “I wanted to get out. See what ‘normal’ wa-as like, I guess.”

David continued to gently caress the boy’s cheek, thinking over the words. Max was still crying, but less so. He decided to speak up.

“So, your dad hits you,” a nod, “and your mom?” Another.

“Does he deny you anything as punishment? Like food?”

Max contemplated it for a while. He assumed David knew the answer, but responded anyways. “Yeah. Sometimes he just will forget, too. We- we never really ate as a family. Dining tables are overrated, anyways.”

“Anything else?” David asked. Max shrugged, not exactly remembering everything. He might’ve missed something, but that was enough.

Emotionally worn-out, he collapsed against David. The man hugged Max, letting the kid cry it out in his arms.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Shortly after breakfast, Space Kid jogged to his area at the activities field. He was finally going to look at the unidentified object he had stumbled upon earlier that day.

Picking it up, nothing much had changed from it. But the time had changed to _“00:01:09”._

He decided to inspect it more. He poked and prodded at the wires, trying to figure out which each one lead to and did.

He couldn’t make any observations, as everything was tightly fit. Space Kid pouted in defeat. _“Mission Failed.”_

Bored with that, he skipped over to where he knew Gwen was.

\---------------------------------------------------------

During breakfast, Gwen pulled out her trusty notebook. She wrote everything she knew about the situation down.

_“ Damp (previously drenched?) & ripped & dirtied (algae + mud) hoodie_

_Broken, slightly bloodied lantern (main source)_

_Bloody trail from lantern to lake. Goes over the docks. (Staggered, splotchy, dried. Flung? Hovering?)_

_David’s mood is still intact_

_David is “taking care of” Max.(?)_

_David calls, saying the doctor said he died. David said he drowned. (Story doesn’t add up. Why is he late to be announced dead?) “_

Gwen examined her list, looking over everything. She didn’t know much else, so she left it at that.

After ushering all of the kids out once they were finished, she locked eyes onto the QM. She called him over to the front of the mess hall.

“Ah, Quarter Master, I need you for a sec.”

He grunted in response, looking over to her. She ignored the chill going down her spine. He was creepy.

“The trees. On the tents,” she clarified, “can you do something about them?”

He quirked an eyebrow at her. She huffed.

“Like… I don’t know… use a chainsaw?”

“Chainsaw’s broken.”

She groaned. Of course it was.

She stood there for a minute, contemplating. He just stood there, staring. She didn’t know why he couldn’t just figure it out himself.

“Look, just-”

“Gwen!”

The woman in question turned, facing a small child.

“What do you want Space Kid?”

He held up a box with cylinders around it. She snatched it from him, having a good idea of what it was.

Her eyes shot up in surprise at the bright red _“00:00:03”._

“Bomb,” Quarter Master commented unhelpfully.

In a burst of panic, she chucked it high into the air.

“SHIT.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late post! Depression's been getting to me and I haven't felt like editing. (Explanation below.)
> 
> ***I'M GOING ON A 1-3 WEEK HIATUS FOR ALL OF MY BOOKS (I have some written that I haven't published yet).***
> 
> Typically what I do is write all my chapters/stories multiple days before posting, and edit later. This keeps a good schedule. What has been happening recently is I've barely had the energy to edit, and therefore haven't been continuing. I kept posting hoping I'd just randomly get my spunk back, but nnnope. This was the last chapter written and I delayed the editing for so long. I decided to tough it out today, and then let you guys in on what's going on.
> 
> This hiatus will give me enough time to write more chapters and books so that once this is over I will have enough to (hopefully) have the book finished, as well as continue and start up other ones. Once I have the next chapter edited and this book finished, I will come back. I'm not sure how long it will take, hence the unclear hiatus time.
> 
> This book WILL be finished. I will never leave you guys on a never-ending cliffhanger. I just need some time. If I have to force myself to write, I'll do it. Granted, it may not be as good as it COULD be, but it'll get the point across.
> 
> \---Please leave comments! :) I love them.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Foster System

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David offers to foster Max. Gwen, Nikki, and Neil continue to struggle with the knowledge that Max is gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: *TALK OF ABUSE* *TALK OF CHILD RAPE* *TALK OF SELF-HARM*

“David Greene?”

David turned from where he and Max were conversing. There-in the doorway-was a cop. She was short, slim, and had deep chocolate skin. She had wild dreads framing her soft facial features, and looked a little older than 30. She seemed very kind and patient, which David was grateful for. David was worried that he may break down crying halfway through.

“Yes? That’s me.”

“I’m Officer Ross. I’d like to speak with you.”

David nodded, heading out with the officer. He waved at a concerned Max as he exited.

They went down a hallway into an office. She gestured a hand out to one of the seats, and he sat. The police officer sat opposite of him across a desk.

They started off with simple questions about himself and how he knew Max, and then they got onto the main reason he was there.

“What do you know about Max’s situation?”

David took a deep breath. He hated thinking about it.

“I think Max is being abused and neglected at home. He’s very skinny, as you could see, and has many worrying scars. The ones I’ve seen so far seem to be from mainly self-harm. He cracked a rib, too, and he said that it was from when his father threw him down the stairs.

“Asides from that he told me he was- _is_ raped.” The officer glanced up from her note taking to look worryingly at the man when he choked on his tears. David refused to meet her eye.

“I already told you what happened at the docks. He panicked and fell in. He did that because he realized that he accidentally admitted to sexual assault. After the incident, he told me... he told me that it was his father.”

The cop scribbled out a few more things, giving David enough time to try and calm himself down. He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt as he waited patiently.

“Alright. Anything else?”

David contemplated it for a moment. There _was_ something else he wanted to ask, but didn’t know if it would be alright with the child.

Well, he’d do anything for Max. The boy knew that, too.

“Do you think I could foster Max?”

Officer Ross arched an eyebrow, seemingly shocked with confusion. Before she could speak, David tried to explain himself.

“I’m one of the few-or, maybe _only_ -people he trusts. I’m already a certified foster parent and would be certainly willing to take him in.”

David smiled hopefully as he watched the cop mull it over in her mind. His leg bounced in anticipation.

She finally nodded, a finger on her chin. “Sure,” she commented, grabbing a few files and standing.

“I’ll get you set up with a social worker and see if that can be done. In the meantime, take care of the boy and yourself. Have a good day, Mr. Greene.”

She offered him warm smile as she shook his hand. He grinned back, and trotted off to Max’s room.

“I’m back, kiddo!” he announced.

Max looked over to the man. He observed that the boy was rubbing a hand over his stomach almost in a soothing motion. Probably a fidget.

With that thought, he also noticed how attentive he was when it came to Max. He noticed a lot of the little things that other people didn’t.

He hoped that didn’t sound weird.

“I have a question,” David started, settling down next to Max on the bed. Max watched him from a sitting position.

“Would you... like for me to foster you?” He asked, glancing away slightly. He smiled slightly from the thought.

Max was silent for a while, prompting the man to look back at the child and offer him a warm grin.

Max’s face was expressionless; David couldn’t figure out what was going on inside his head.

Finally, Max spoke, quietly:

“I wouldn’t object.”

\---------------------------------------------------------

“Bomb,” Quarter Master commented unhelpfully.

In a burst of panic, Gwen chucked the device high into the air.

“SHIT.”

Up in the sky, the bomb blew up. Mounds of glitter came pouring down after it.

Gwen’s eye twitched in irritation. It was just a glitter bomb? She thought the whole camp was about to be in pieces!

A note also flew down, emerging from the mess.

Gwen snatched it once it landed. She held it above her head, trying to read it despite the sun.

_“THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.”_

Gwen sighed. She knew _exactly_ who that came from.

She threw the paper to the ground, storming off. She launched herself into the counselor’s cabin pissed beyond belief.

She took a while to get in the shower, instead leaning against the door frame of the bathroom.

She took a few deep breaths, trying to not cry. She was suddenly reminded of Max and how he would always fuck with her. How she was leaning against this very door frame when she got back from a long campfire weeks ago.

_“Hey bitch.”_

_Gwen startled, whipping around. Her wide eyes narrowed in annoyance once she saw Max on one of the couches._

_“How’d you get in here, you little shit?”_

_Max scoffed, rolling his eyes. “There’s no lock. You remember, or are you actually that fucking stupid?”_

_She scowled, balling up her hands. He had no right to talk to her like that!_

_“What the hell do you want?”_

_“Nothing.”_

_She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Yeah, sure.”_

_“No, really: nothing.” Max rubbed his arm slightly, looking uncomfortable. Nonetheless, his expression seemed long past pissed off. “I just wanted to get away from all the noise. Everyone is so damn annoying. Including you, by the way.”_

_She scrunched up her nose. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t remember seeing Max there._

_“Whatever. Just get out. You’re ruining everything for me.”_

_“Jesus fuck, OK. I’m leaving.”_

_He left without another word, shuffling out. Before closing the door, he stuck up his middle finger at her. She returned it without a second thought._

_He slammed the door angrily._

Looking back on it, she really could’ve treated him better. If she could go back in time, she’d definitely slap herself. It was the only right thing to do. She said so many terrible things to him without thinking that she now couldn’t take back.

She was a horrible person.

Gwen shut the door with the same vigor Max had that day and got ready for a shower.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Nikki and Neil were hastily going through each phase of grief. There were ultimately on depression now, slumping against each other for the whole second half of the day. They refused to leave their tent, not even leaving for dinner. Which was now.

“Nikki! Neil!” Gwen called out near the tents. Neither really answered, instead opting to let her find them on her own. Or not; whatever.

Eventually, of course, Gwen poked her head through the tent flaps. She quickly spotted the duo, and scrunched up her eyes in worry. She instantly knew what was happening, and she headed over to the two.

“Hey, guys. You OK?”

The campers didn’t answer, just stared at the wall. Gwen sighed sympathetically as she sat next to them, Nikki against her hip.

She wrapped an arm around them, holding them close. Nikki immediately turned and sobbed into Gwen’s chest. Neil dropped his head, willing tears back into his tear ducts.

She rubbed both their arms, cooing relaxingly. She didn’t have to say much for her to get her message across. She knew they knew she understood their pain.

The two eventually fell asleep a few hours later, and Gwen didn’t have the heart to get up. Instead she wrapped a nearby blanket around them, wiping away their drying tears as she drifted off.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Officer Ross had returned later that day accompanied by a social worker. He had introduced himself as Mr. Todd. He was tall, slim, and around Officer Ross’ age. After greetings, they sat in Max’s hospital room talking over the possibility of David fostering Max.

“We have enough evidence to get Max out of that house,” Mr. Todd spoke, “so he will be taken by the state.

“This means he will be placed in a foster family. If you’re so willing, Mr. Greene, I don’t see anything wrong with you taking him. That is, of course, if Max is alright with it. Max?”

Mr. Todd directed his last sentence to Max, who instantly perked up at a choice. He nodded vigorously, grinning slightly.

“Yeah. I trust David.”

Mr. Todd smiled warmly at Max, who shied away slightly once catching up to his admission.

“Well, I guess it’s settled then? Mr. Greene, here are some papers I’d like for you to sign.”

The social worker handed David some documents, which he took a little too eagerly. He looked over each page carefully, and while he did that, Mr. Todd and Officer Ross walked outside to talk.

“So, where do you live? Some cabin in the woods, or maybe the camp itself?”

David glanced over at Max when he broke the short silence. The child had a cocky grin in place, something David was thankful of. Max was being much quieter these past few days; he deserved to get back into his old habits.

“No, no. I live in a lovely neighborhood not too far from here. I’m sure you’ll love it,” he chuckled.

Max perked up at that. He was more than eager to stay far away from nature as long as he could.

“You should bolt everything down while you’re at it, camp man. Else a hurricane might crash into it once you take me in,” Max teased.

“Could this hurricane happen to be a certain emerald-eyed, raven-haired, ten-year-old?”

“Perhaps,” the child giggled. Hearing the boy sound so childish made David’s smile stretch ever-so-wider, bouncing slightly in his seat.

“Then I’m sure I can handle it,” he joined in on Max’s laughter.

“Get back to work, dumb-ass,” Max breathed out once he calmed down a bit, nudging David. David shot up in remembrance, quickly turning back to the documents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK! Hello, hello, hello!
> 
> It will be a bit until the next chapter, as well, but I'm back in the spirit! My computer broke down so now I have to use the laggy family one, which I think has it out for me. Whatever, this chapter's here now!
> 
> Special thanks to those who left prompts in my Prompt series! It really helped me. <3
> 
> Also, PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS! They really make my day!! :)


	9. Chapter 9 - WoodScouts and A Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gwen has to parent the kids again once they have a run-in with the WoodScouts. David welcomes Max into his home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and unedited.
> 
> No warnings, except talk of demons.

_“The demonth are here to take uth! Out of the way, Harrithon!”_

Gwen looked up from her breakfast as Nerris burst into the mess hall. Instantly overcome with worry, the woman hurried over to the panicked camper.

“Nerris, what happened?”

Nerris pointed outside with one hand, the other digging in her pockets for her die.

Upon looking outside, Gwen was ready to go to sleep.

_The WoodScouts. Of course it’s the fucking WoodScouts._

The rival campers were dressed in well-crafted costumes that made them look utterly _terrifying_. If not for the obvious giveaways, Gwen would have thought there were _actual_ demons.

_How in the_ hell _did they do their makeup? I didn’t know they had any badges for that._

“Don’t worry, everyone! Nerrith hath got thith!”

Gwen seized her by her shoulder, pushing the young warrior behind her. She told everyone to _“calm down, damnit!”_ as she opened the door.

  
“What the hell are you three doing?” She deadpanned. The three campers turned to her quickly, bared their teeth, and ran away from all the campers’ tents. (Jermy tripped on the tree still tipped over.) Gwen facepalmed, heading over to the shelters to see what they had done.

At first glance, she didn’t see anything. Neither on the second. _Or_ third. At this point the kids had slowly started leaving the mess hall, either doing their own thing or following Gwen around. She growled to herself, pissed. No way they just came here to _scare_ them.

Which had apparently been successful, as she felt a trembling hand tug on her shorts.

“…Gwen? Are the demons gone?”

The woman in question looked down to the space fanatic, fond smile allowing itself to grace itself on her face. She picked Space Kid up, holding him like a mother would to their child.

“There were no demons in the first place, kid. Just the WoodScouts trying to scare us.” She affirmed. The boy grinned widely, settling down into her arms. Her heart soared with affection, and with that, she noticed how fond she had grown of the campers ever since Max’s passing. _Gross._

She walked off still carrying Space Kid. Some of the children around them started following her to the activities field, including a still-sad-looking Nikki and Neil. She gave them a warm smile, but they just ignored it. She tried not to let it get to her.

\---------------------------------------------------------

“This is it, kiddo!” David announced.

The hospital decided that they’d just set up some follow up appointments after Max spent three hours straight complaining about the boring hospital room. Despite David’s worries, he was also eager to welcome Max into his home. Said boy was looking David’s home up and down with a blank expression, hiding his true feelings for it. With no more words, he walked up to the door, turned around, and looked at David expectantly.

David chuckled, too excited to give much thought to Max’s uncaring façade. The two walked into the building, one bouncing on their heel and the other trying hard not to.

“Interesting,” commented Max. It was; his house was _nice._ Like, _really_ nice. It wasn’t too much, but it wasn’t too little. And, he’d never admit it, but the surplus of plants was comforting.

“I’m glad you like it! Today, we can set up your room, I can show you around a bit, maybe settle down with some movies, then tomorrow we can get back to camp!” David cheered. He looked down to the smirking boy, who nodded in response.

“Alrighty, follow me!”

****Please read end notes****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is so short! I wanted to get a chapter out to you guys to let you know I'm alive.
> 
> It's also unedited as of now, but I might fix it later.
> 
> Expect another chapter in hopefully a month or so. Comments help give me energy to write. Something simple, a prediction, kind words, even cursing me for cliffhangers or angst, I appreciate it all!
> 
> See yinz soon. In the meantime, I have other Camp Camp stories!


	10. Chapter 10 - Two Entirely Different Lunch Breaks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gwen tries to find more evidence so she can finally go to the cops. David and Max bond a little more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: *PANIC ATTACK* *TALK OF SUSPECTED KIDNAPPING AND MURDER*

Gwen pulled her notepad out once again during lunch, letting the kids do whatever they wanted. (Which wasn’t much.) She already had a good amount of information down, but she felt like she had to write more. If not for her sake, for _his._

She looked at what she already had. The damp, ripped hoodie. The broken, bloodied lantern and blood trail leading from it. Information on David’s strange behavior, and what she could gather from their phone calls.

It wasn’t _enough._ Where was Max? He wasn’t in the lake, because it would be bloodied. Then where did the rest of the blood go? The existing patches were few and far between, implying that Max must have been hovering while David held him and ran.

Maybe Max was still alive, and David had him trapped?

_Oh god, David’s not… he can’t be…_

She stood. _Oh my god. Max might be alive. But how can I prove that? Where is he? Where are they?_

Hot sweat trickled down her neck as she busted out of the mess hall doors. She needed more evidence.

_More evidence, more evidence, more evidence…_

She slammed open the counselor’s cabin, the cabin shaking with the force behind it. She didn’t bother to close it as she rushed in.

_\--he stuck up his middle finger at her. She returned it without a second thought._

_He slammed the door angrily._

_More evidence, more evidence, more evidence…_

Skimming across the floor, Gwen shifted through random papers in and around her and David’s desks. She didn’t process anything she was looking at, really only doing it in order to fill the silence.

_\--“he’s OK, right?”_

_The silence was terrible. The longer it went on, the more she worried._

_More evidence._

Suddenly, Gwen realized she wasn’t breathing. Well, she _was_ breathing, but _way_ too shallow and _way_ too fast.

_\--She curled up in a ball on the floor, following in her phone’s footsteps. She started to panic._

_Get it together Gwen, you need more evidence!_

She crumpled to the ground, pulling at her hair. Her vision was blackening, yet all she could do was sob.

\---------------------------------------------------------

“Alright, you think you’re ready?”

“Yeah. This’s fine.”

Max led David out of his new room once he responded to the man’s question. They spent the past hour looking through all the sheets and décor the red head had on hand, then had to set it all up. It wasn’t much, but David was insistent they looked through _each and every_ _blanket and pillow_ before deciding. While Max liked the thought, he was _exhausted_.

Not to mention hungry.

“If you make lunch, I might let you show me around,” they boy bargained. David nodded, switching the leader role as he took Max to the kitchen.

“You can look through all the cabinets and the fridge to pick your lunch! The freezer’s in the garage if you think you might want something from there.”

Max rolled his eyes. “Yeah, no. You can do that. I’ll take whatever.”

“Alright… how about chicken nuggets?” David could tell Max was tired and didn’t want to push him. The boy nodded, turning around and sitting on the couch.

“Righty! If you want to watch anything, the remote’s on the white thingy under the TV!”

“The… the white thingy?” Max snorted, pointing to the object. It was a short storage-bookshelf-container thing that was slightly taller than Max. Max withdrew a remote next to a game console situated in one of the holes.

_A Wii? Seriously?_

David responded from within the kitchen, where the raven-haired child heard a door open. “I’ve never known what to call it. The first time I said it, it just… stuck.”

“Whatever, old man.”

Max turned the TV on, quickly finding Netflix and surfing through it to see if there was anything interesting.

A door closed again, followed by a smaller slam. The microwave started and Max felt like he could relax.

“Do you want any condiments?”

“Do you have mustard?”

David hummed thoughtfully when he opened the fridge. “Yep!”

The older man stood in the doorway of the kitchen, leaning against the wall as he waited for the food to cook. He looked at the television but directed his question to the boy on the couch.

“What’re you thinking of watching?”

“I dunno, maybe something rated R to piss you off.”

“Oh! Is that SpongeBob? Golly, I love that show.”

Max looked up at the cheerful man-child, then back at the screen. “What’s that?”

The man gasped, his smile growing impossibly larger. “You _have_ to watch it! Wait! Let our lunch finish first. I want to watch it with you!”

Max quirked an eyebrow at him. If David liked it, it probably sucked, but he didn’t know what to do anyways. Might as well.

David rushed to gather the food, splitting the nuggets 10-10 between the two. David gave Max the plate with mustard, keeping the one with ketchup. He excitedly plopped down next to the boy, practically bouncing. Max started the show.

It was _weird._ The laws of physics were practically abandoned, and SpongeBob was annoying as hell. Loud, obnoxious, and constantly pestering the blue guy.

Yet, despite all this, Max found himself laughing alongside David. It was like some sort of relaxing spell, either casted by the man next to him or the show. It was captivating, and he found himself forgetting about his worries as he watched the yellow sponge dance across the screen. It was so disgustingly childish, but Max found himself uncaring after his first giggle. It felt _nice._ Like _hell_ Max was going to let some self-deprecation take that from him.

“Oh, I love this part!”

And of course, there was a certain man that made it all better. He didn’t feel awkward around him. The man embarrassed _himself_ half the time. Hell, _most_ of the time.

Minutes passed and the first episode came to its’ end. Max ad David were both finished with their plates, so the elder picked them both up and took them to the dishwasher.

“Well, Max, do you want me to show you around? Or do you want to keep watching?”

Max stood up in lieu of an answer. David clapped his hands together excitedly, first taking Max upstairs. He’d already seen one of the two rooms up there, anyways.

As the tour went on, Max couldn’t even attempt to keep the smile off his face. Everything was just so… _David._ Little knick-knacks from camping trips or his time at school, small potted plants, etc. Max felt like he might start to enjoy it here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: the "white thingy" under the TV is a little easter egg. It's what my family calls the exact same thing in our house.
> 
> 5 points for each chapter you can figure out Gwen has flashbacks to at the beginning!
> 
> Do you guys prefer longer or shorter chapters? This is only around 1,000 words while I typically write over 2,000 per chapter. Let me know!


	11. Chapter 11 - Love and War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Camp Campbell gets raided. David brushes Max's hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit shorter. Next chapter is probably not going to be, though.
> 
> No warnings. :)

“WHERE IS OUR CONSELOUR?!”

Camp Campbell was currently being raided by both the WoodScouts and FlowerScouts. They were being battered by paintballs left and right by half of them, while the others captured the campers. But they didn’t take them away, oh, no. That wasn’t their plan this time.

Preston, the one who delivered the desperate shout, was dangling upside-down from the flagpole. Ered was swaying next to him from the same rope, casually bopping along to her music.

Nurf, in a courageous act of heroism, sprinted to the counselor’s cabin. The main door was already open, so he rushed inside and to the female counselor’s room. He pounded on it for a solid 30 seconds before the dead-looking woman emerged.

“What,” she deadpanned. Nurf frantically pointed outside to where the war was still occurring, desperately looking between it and the woman.

Sighing dejectedly, Gwen slowly dragged her feet over to the scene. Without a word, she grabbed a nearby FlowerScout’s paintball gun (which gave Gwen a ringing ear as the girl screeched at her,) and pummeled all the children from the opposing camps. Stricken from the sudden switch in power, they all whipped their heads to the scowling adult.

Finally, Gwen dropped the device and stomped on it. She grabbed the collar of the (still screaming) FlowerScout, dragging her over to the lake where the boats of all the camps lied. She grabbed another kid on her way and hefted them on the canoes. She didn’t need to speak for them to get the message as all the children scrambled to their respective boats, quickly rowing away. (Not before one punched Gwen in the gut, which she forced herself to ignore.)

She slowly but surely untangled the campers that were stuck, ushering them all into the mess hall to clean off.

Waiting for Gwen to grab a rag to dampen, Harrison asked “Gwen, are you OK?”

She didn’t acknowledge him for a few beats, leading the young boy to believe she didn’t hear him. Yet, before he could try to speak again, Gwen said, “I’m fine.” Her tone was soft and much calmer than she had looked mere minutes earlier.

She didn’t let anyone try to prod her anymore as she waved the closest camper – Preston – to her side. She gently pressed the cloth to his face, wiping away the ink.

That would be the case had the stains _actually_ rubbed off. Instead, Gwen found herself frantically scrubbing at incessant blobs, ignoring a frenzied Preston.

She set the rag down as she resumed delicately inspecting his face. It was covered in multi-colored splotches, some sparkly and others matte. Testing a theory, she brought Dolf over to her. She tsk’d when her hypothesis proved correct.

“Of course they’d make them fuck’n waterproof,” she grumbled as she threw the towel in the sink. She rubbed her temple, trying to think of what to do.

“Alright, kids. I’m not really sure how to get these things off, so you’re probably gonna have to deal with this for a few days ‘till it naturally comes off. Or until we figure out how to remove it. Don’t rub at your faces much ‘cause I don’t want you all to get irritated pours, or something.”

The campers all collectively groaned, annoyed with their current predicament. The campers – sans Space Kid – went to their tents to find a different set of clothes.

Gwen patted the space fanatic’s shoulder before she went back to her room. Now alone once again, she went back to what she was doing previously; adding to her journal. She felt like with a good report, and a practiced speech to display her information, she’d have the cops on her side. She’d finish this tonight, practice tomorrow morning, and call them once she felt ready. She wanted to call tonight, but she couldn’t fuck this up. She had to convince them to search despite her low quantity of facts.

With Max in the forefront of her mind, she continued to write.

\---------------------------------------------------------

“I’m done,” called Max. He entered the living room donned in pajamas provided by David.

He had just finished a short shower, thanks to David’s orders. He typically showered in the morning, but the ginger had insisted.

“Perfect!” _Speak of the devil-_ “Come here so I can brush your hair!”

Taken aback by the request, the raven-haired child recoiled. He narrowed his eyes at the man. “I’m not white, David. Our hair isn’t the same.”

David shook his head and giggled. “I know! That doesn’t mean I can’t! Come here, please. I’ll be careful, I promise.”

Max rolled his eyes, finally giving in to the request. He sat in front of the man, promptly grabbing a nearby blanket to warm up his cold body.

True to his word, David was gentle, slowly working on his curls. They were slightly matted from multiple days without showering, but David was patient. It was relaxing; the way the comb scratched lightly on his scalp, and how David slightly ruffled every section he finished. Max didn’t want to break the tranquil mood, so he didn’t speak. David didn’t either. Well, not until he was done.

“There ya go, champ! You’re all set for tomorrow!”

The boy peered over his shoulder, arching an eyebrow. “What’s tomorrow?”

“Oh! I forgot to tell you,” he laughed, “We’re headed back to the camp!”

Max smiled faintly, standing. “Alright, fine by me. Even if I hate that place.”

David winked at him before getting up himself. “Nonsense! You love it there. C’mon bedtime.”

Max didn’t have the energy to retort, so instead he went back to his room, the red head following behind.

David tucked him in, and Max pretended that he was bothered by it. The man ignored him, though, and instead brushed his hand over the child’s forehead.

“Goodnight, kiddo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (God, it's difficult to figure out chapter names for this.)
> 
> WE'RE ALMOST AT THE END!! You guys got any predictions? I'd love to hear them!

**Author's Note:**

> I take criticism! Don't be afraid to tell me your thoughts. :)


End file.
